Sacrifice
by Rock Lees Lotus
Summary: I would sacrifice everything to be with you... GaixLee


Sacrifice

Maito Gai shut his front door behind him as he stepped in to the third floor hallway of his apartment building. He was about to go about one of life's more mundane tasks, yet his steps were filled with dread. Gai knew what awaited him once stepped out into the street; people and their judgement. As he reached the main floor, the exit, and then the street, he could feel them on him, hundreds of eyes, burrowing into his flesh. Yet these were not the looks to which he had grown accustom. These eyes did not say 'what is he wearing?' or 'what a weirdo.' Instead, they cried out 'freak,' 'pervert,' 'pedophile!' These had been the type of sentiments that he had been forced to endure ever since the general public had discovered just how far his relationship with a certain one of his students went.

It was Kakashi that had first discovered him and Lee sharing a kiss in a back alley months ago. But after Kakashi had confronted Gai about the issue, he had agreed to keep their taboo romance a secret. But the knowledge that somebody less understanding would discover them eventually loomed over him. His fear eventually broke him and Gai told the Hokage what was going on. He took it surprisingly well, his response simply being,

"And?"

Gai felt as if he could walk on air… but he knew it was too good to be true. Just because Naruto-kun accepted how he and Lee felt for each other did not mean that the villagers would. And how right Gai was in thinking so…

It was times like these that Gai wished his ears were not as well trained as they were. Every passing comment, every whispered curse or insult rang in his mind as if they had been shouted at him.

"That's him…"

"Despicable, really…"

"It's disgusting!"

"I wouldn't 've ever let my boy near 'im."

Gai walked on in silence, refusing to meet the eyes of those around him, knowing what they held behind them, as a middle-aged man spat at his feet.

"Never got a good vibe from that one."

"The poor boy…"

"He probably raped 'im."

"Pedophile."

_No… No, they're wrong…_ Gai thought as his head began to bow and his shoulders hunched slightly.

"I don't want him teaching."

"Why doesn't the Hokage throw him out?"

"Pervert."

"The kid's probably too embarrassed to admit it was rape…"

_No… L-Lee told me first… He's eighteen but I still haven't touched him…_ Gai wished that his precious person was there with him, holding his hand, giving him strength. Yet at the same time he wanted to keep him away, to shield and protect him from this retched scrutiny. Gai still could not forget the night that Lee had told him about how some of the villagers, children and adults alike, had thrown rocks at him while cursing out his older love. After the tears had dried, the pair fell asleep in each other's arms, realising in each other's love and warmth.

"Do you ever wonder if that kid was really the first?"

"I always thought he was ore moral than that…"

"Humph. What a monster…"

"How dare he do such a vile thing?"

_You're wrong… You're wrong! It's not wicked! We love each other! It's not wrong for us to be together!_

Suddenly, a sound foreign to the whispers and insults filled his ears. Gai stopped in his tracks as his eyes set on a crying boy no more than five before him, clutching a skinned knee. His kind nature winning over his despair, Gai reached into his back pouch and took out a band-aid, bending down to the boy's level.

"Now that looks like it stings," Gai said with a smile as the boy's tear-streaked face gazed up at him in wonder. "Would you like a band-aid?" The boy nodded silently. Gently, Gai placed the bandage on the boy's knee with a friendly grin. "There, feel better?" The boy nodded again, smiling. "Good."

Without warning, Gai found himself being struck across the face by a woman's hand. Gai sat there, frozen, stunned, feeling more emotional pain than physical due to his years of taijutsu training. The boy began to cry again as the woman scooped him up in her arms.

"You stay the hell away from my son, you predator! I hope you rot!"

Gai could not stand it any longer. "As if I could ever expect you to understand… Any of you!" Gai growled as he stood, his fists balled at his sides. As he turned, his proud stance was broken. Gai refused to run from anything, but despite him slow pace, the feeling was all the same.

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As he shut the door of him apartment behind him, Gai could feel the sensation of falling into himself. As he closed his eyes and sighed his depression felt heavy on his chest. Yet as he opened them, what he saw seemed to lighten the load.

"Welcome home, Gai-sensei…"

"Lee… I thought you weren't getting back from your mission until tomorrow…" Gai asked his love as Lee wrapped his arms around Gai's neck.

"I rushed home… I missed you…" Lee whispered as he brought himself closer to his teacher. Lee knew by now that Gai never made the move to touch him first, but he smiled as he kissed his sensei passionately.

With that simple motion of Lee's lips against his, Gai could feel all his anguish, his sadness, his pain dissipate like evanescently. And Gai knew why. It was because Lee's caress made it all worth it. The discrimination, the abuse, the hate, Gai would take it all if it meant that he could come home to his Lee and feel him warm embrace.

Gai's arms snaked around his student's waist and up his back as he found himself against the door, the pair's kiss growing more aggressive. Yet, despite his zeal, Lee felt something damp on his nose and as he pulled back he saw his beloved teacher crying.

"Sensei… why are you crying…?" Lee asked as he immediately began to kiss and nuzzle the tears away.

Gai smiled. "It's okay, Lee…"

"No it's not, you're crying…" _ I knew it_, Lee thought. _They've hurt you again, haven't they? Spreading their lies…They couldn't even begin to understand, but I know that you're afraid… You're afraid that what they're saying is true, but it's not… Oh, Gai-sensei, it's not true!_ Fighting back his own tears, Lee wrapped his arms tighter around his teacher, holding him close.

"You know, don't you…?" Gai whispered into his pupil's ear as Lee nodded. "Lee, it's okay… All that… I'm willing to put up with it if it means I get to have you… It's a price I'm willing to pay… And if that means that I can't teach again, that's my sacrifice. I've already had the best student I could ever hope for… I love you, Lee, and I'd give anything to be with you…"

"Oh, Gai-sensei, I love you too, and… and there's something else I need to tell you…" Lee said as he pulled away, a small blush finding its way to his cheeks.

"Wh-What is it, Lee?" Gai asked with mild concern.

"I-It's just that… Well, there's another reason that I wanted to rush home…" Lee looked at him teacher, Gai's eyes willing him to continue. There had been a time when his sensei had seemed so tall in comparison, but now they nearly stood eye to eye. "I-I've been thinking about it lately and… Well, I think… no, I know that… I'm ready…"

"L-Lee… a-are you sure?" Gai asked, stunned, a blush matching Lee's creeping onto his features. Lee nodded. "You're positive? 100? You don't have any doubts? Because, Lee, if you're not certain, I can wait! I don't mind waiting, really, because-…" Gai's words were cut off by Lee's lips on his once more.

"I'm ready and I want this…" Lee whispered, smiling, as they parted. He then took Gai's hands in his and lead him into the bedroom of his sensei's apartment, preparing himself for a night he would not soon forget.

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And the crappy fanfics just keep on coming... sigh

This is actually a re-write of an old fic of mine that Nocturnal-Albino from deviant art got me to start up again. I had always liked the idea...

Oh, and I will say this now because I KNOW I'm going to get asked for this...

**I will NOT write a lemony sequel!!!**

There.


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